Archive | In the News

By Dr. William OvertonFaculty Director, English, Humanities, and World Languagesat American Public University

It will be hard to rival the example of low academic integrity set by Aaron Swartz, 24, who was charged with hacking into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology network and stealing nearly 5 million academic articles (reported on YAHOO! NEWS and TheChronicle of Higher Education).

The structure of the education system is pretty well engrained in all of us. The centuries-old model of a teacher standing at the front of a classroom, delivering a lesson to all students is just the way it’s done, right?

Well, the Obama administration would like to change that. And, it’s offering a sizable monetary reward to spur school districts to get innovative and figure out a more effective way to personalize education for students.

Are schools enhancing their students’ education by using technology as a teaching aid or has it become a distraction in the classroom? The debate over the effectiveness and appropriateness of technology in the classroom remains a hot subject for many educators. I’ve heard from teachers who don’t believe technology is vastly more effective than traditional tools, while others say it’s made a huge impact on learning in the classroom.

There’s been so much debate about charter schools that it’s hard to get a handle on how the public feels about this education option. I just read this article in the Editorial/Opinion section of the Seattle Times about the State of Washington debating whether it should become the 43rd state to adopt a charter-school law.